Silesia

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For other uses, see Silesia (disambiguation).
"Schlesien" redirects here. For other uses, see Schlesien (disambiguation).
Not to be confused with Cilicia.
Silesia
Śląsk, Slezsko, Schlesien
POL woj dolnoslaskie COA 2009.svg
Coat of arms
Historic Silesia, superimposed on modern national borders: The medieval and early modern Bohemian and Habsburg province is shaded cyan, Prussian Silesia is bordered in red.
Historic Silesia, superimposed on modern national borders: The medieval and early modern Bohemian and Habsburg province is shaded cyan, Prussian Silesia is bordered in red.
Country  Poland
 Czech Republic
 Germany
Largest city Wrocław
Time zone CET (UTC+1)
 • Summer (DST) CEST (UTC+2)

Silesia (/saɪliːʒə/ or /saɪliːʃə/; Polish: Śląsk [ɕlɔ̃sk]; German: About this sound Schlesien (help·info) German pronun­cia­tion: [ʃleːziən]; Silesian German: Schläsing; Czech: Slezsko; Silesian: Ślůnsk [ɕlonsk]; Latin: Silesia) is a region of Central Europe located mostly in Poland, with small parts in the Czech Republic and Germany. Its area is about 40,000 km2 (15,444 sq mi), and its population about 8,000,000. Silesia is located along the Oder River. It consists of Lower Silesia and Upper Silesia.

The region is rich in mineral and natural resources, and includes several important industrial areas. Silesia's largest city and historical capital is Wrocław. The biggest metropolitan area is the Upper Silesian metropolitan area, the centre of which is Katowice. Parts of the Czech city of Ostrava fall within the borders of Silesia.

Silesia's borders and national affiliation have changed over time, both when it was a hereditary possession of noble houses and after the rise of modern nation-states. The first known states to hold power there were probably those of Greater Moravia at the end of the 9th century and Bohemia early in the 10th century. In the 10th century, Silesia was incorporated into the early Polish state, and after its division in the 12th century became a Piast duchy. In the 14th century, it became a constituent part of the Bohemian Crown Lands under the Holy Roman Empire, which passed to the Austrian Habsburg Monarchy in 1526.

Most of Silesia was conquered by Prussia in 1742, later becoming part of the German Empire, the Weimar Republic, and Nazi Germany up to 1945. The varied history with changing aristocratic possessions resulted in an abundance of castles in Silesia, especially in the Jelenia Góra valley. After World War I, the easternmost part of this region, i.e. an eastern strip of Upper Silesia, was awarded to Poland by the Entente Powers after rebellions by Polish people and the Upper Silesian plebiscite. The remaining former Austrian parts of Silesia were partitioned to Czechoslovakia, and are today part of the Czech Republic. In 1945, after World War II, the bulk of Silesia was transferred to Polish jurisdiction by the Potsdam Agreement of the victorious Allied Powers and became part of Poland. The small Lusatian strip west of the Oder-Neisse line, which had belonged to Silesia since 1815, remained in Germany. Its centres are Görlitz and Bautzen.

Most inhabitants of Silesia today speak the national languages of their respective countries (Polish and Czech, both of which are Western Slavic languages, with some, albeit limited, mutual intelligibility). The population of Upper Silesia is native (with some immigrants from Poland who came in the 19th to 20th centuries), while Lower Silesia was settled by a German-speaking population before 1945. An ongoing debate exists whether Silesian speech should be considered a dialect of Polish or a separate language.[citation needed] Also, a Lower Silesian German dialect is used, although today it is almost extinct.[citation needed] It is used by expellees within Germany, as well as Germans who were left behind.

Etymology[edit]

The names of Silesia in the different languages most likely share their etymology—Latin and English: Silesia; Polish: Śląsk; Old Polish: Ślążsk[o]; Silesian: Ślůnsk; German: Schlesien; Silesian German: Schläsing; Czech: Slezsko; Slovak: Sliezsko; Kashubian: Sląsk; Upper Sorbian: Šleska; Lower Sorbian: Šlazyńska. The names all relate to the name of a river (now Ślęza) and mountain (Mount Ślęża) in mid-southern Silesia. The mountain served as a cultic place.

Ślęża is listed as one of the numerous Pre-Indo-European topographic names in the region (see old European hydronymy).[1]

According to some Polish Slavists, the name Ślęża [ˈɕlɛ̃ʐa] or Ślęż [ˈɕlɛ̃ʐ] is directly related to the Old Slavic words ślęg [ˈɕlɛ̃ɡ] or śląg [ˈɕlɔ̃ɡ], which means dampness, moisture, or humidity.[2] They disagree with the hypothesis of an origin for the name Śląsk [ˈɕlɔ̃sk] from the name of the Silings tribe, an etymology preferred by some German authors.[3]

History[edit]

Main article: History of Silesia
Silesia in an early period of Poland's fragmentation, 1172–1177
Lands of the Bohemian Crown until 1742 when most of Silesia was ceded to Prussia
1905 administrative map of Province of Silesia showing the historical locations of Upper Silesia (Oppeln) in red, Middle Silesia (Breslau) in yellow, and Lower Silesia (Liegnitz) in green

In the fourth century BC, Celts entered Silesia, settling around Mount Ślęża near modern Wrocław, Oława, and Strzelin.[4] Germanic Lugii tribes were first recorded within Silesia in the 1st century.[citation needed] Slavic peoples arrived in the region around the 7th century,[5] and by the early ninth century, their settlements had stabilized. Local Slavs started to erect boundary structures like the Silesian Przesieka and the Silesia Walls. The eastern border of Silesian settlement was situated to the west of the Bytom, and east from Racibórz and Cieszyn. East of this line dwelt a closely related Slav tribe, the Vistulans. Their northern border was in the valley of the Barycz River, north of which lived the Polans.[6]

The first known states in Silesia were Greater Moravia and Bohemia. In the 10th century, the Polish ruler Mieszko I of the Piast dynasty incorporated Silesia into the Polish state. During the Fragmentation of Poland, Silesia and the rest of the country were divided among many independent duchies ruled by various Silesian dukes. During this time, German cultural and ethnic influence increased as a result of immigration from German-speaking parts of the Holy Roman Empire. In 1178, parts of the Duchy of Kraków around Bytom, Oświęcim, Chrzanów, and Siewierz were transferred to the Silesian Piasts, although their population was primarily Vistulan and not of Silesian descent.[6]

Between 1289 and 1292, Bohemian king Wenceslaus II became suzerain of some of the Upper Silesian duchies. Polish kings had not renounced their hereditary rights to Silesia until 1335.[7] The province became part of the Bohemian Crown under the Holy Roman Empire, and passed with that crown to the Habsburg Monarchy of Austria in 1526.

In the 15th century, several changes were made to Silesia's borders. Parts of the territories which had been transferred to the Silesian Piasts in 1178 were bought by the Polish kings in the second half of the 15th century (the Duchy of Oświęcim in 1457; the Duchy of Zator in 1494). The Bytom area remained in the possession of the Silesian Piasts, though it was a part of the Diocese of Kraków.[6] The Duchy of Crossen was inherited by the Margraviate of Brandenburg in 1476, and with the renunciation of King Ferdinand I and the estates of Bohemia in 1538, became an integral part of Brandenburg.

In 1742, most of Silesia was seized by King Frederick the Great of Prussia in the War of the Austrian Succession, eventually becoming the Prussian Province of Silesia in 1815; consequently, Silesia became part of the German Empire when it was proclaimed in 1871.

After World War I, Upper Silesia was contested by Germany and the newly independent Second Polish Republic. The League of Nations organized a plebiscite to decide the issue in 1921. It resulted in 60% of votes being cast for Germany and 40% for Poland.[citation needed] Following the third Silesian Uprising (1921), however, the easternmost portion of Upper Silesia (including Katowice), with a majority ethnic Polish population, was awarded to Poland, becoming the Silesian Voivodeship. The Prussian Province of Silesia within Germany was then divided into the provinces of Lower Silesia and Upper Silesia. Meanwhile, Austrian Silesia, the small portion of Silesia retained by Austria after the Silesian Wars, was mostly awarded to the new Czechoslovakia (becoming known as Czech Silesia), although most of Cieszyn and territory to the east of it went to Poland (see Zaolzie).

Polish Silesia was among the first regions invaded during Germany's 1939 attack on Poland. One of the claimed goals of Nazi occupation, particularly in Upper Silesia, was the extermination of those whom Nazis viewed as subhuman, namely Jews and ethnic Poles. The Polish and Jewish population of Silesia was subjected to genocide involving ethnic cleansing and mass murder, while German colonists were settled in pursuit of Lebensraum.[8] Two thousand Polish intellectuals, politicians, and businessmen were murdered in the Intelligenzaktion Schlesien[9] in 1940 as part of a Poland-wide Germanization program. Silesia also housed one of the two main wartime centers where medical experiments were conducted on kidnapped Polish children by Nazis.[10]

The Potsdam Conference of 1945 defined the Oder-Neisse line as the border between Germany and Poland. Millions of Germans in Silesia either fled or were expelled, and were replaced by Polish population settled from other regions. After 1945 and in 1946, nearly all of the 4.5 million Silesians of German descent were expelled or fled, including some thousand German Jews who survived the Holocaust and returned to Silesia; 634,106 Silesians died in the expulsion,[citation needed] nearly 14% of the population. During the forced expulsion, the Red Army and the Poles committed atrocities as serious as those previously perpetrated by the Nazis on the Silesian Poles.[citation needed] Furthermore, the newly formed Polish United Workers' Party created a Ministry of the Recovered Territories that claimed half of the available arable land for state-run collectivized farms. Many Silesian residents who resented the Germans for their invasion in 1939 and brutality in occupation, now resented the newly formed Polish communist government for their population shifting and interference in agricultural and industrial affairs.[11]

The administrative division of Silesia within Poland has changed several times since 1945. Since 1999, it has been divided between Lubusz Voivodeship, Lower Silesian Voivodeship, Opole Voivodeship, and Silesian Voivodeship. Czech Silesia is now part of the Czech Republic, forming the Moravian-Silesian Region and the northern part of the Olomouc Region. Germany retains the Silesia-Lusatia region (Niederschlesien-Oberlausitz or Schlesische Oberlausitz) west of the Neisse, which is part of the federal state of Saxony.

Geography[edit]

First map of Silesia by Martin Helwig, 1561; north at the bottom

Most of Silesia is relatively flat, although its southern border is generally mountainous. It is primarily located in a swath running along both banks of the upper and middle Oder (Odra) River, but it extends eastwards to the upper Vistula River. The region also includes many tributaries of the Oder, including the Bóbr (and its tributary the Kwisa), the Barycz and the Nysa Kłodzka. The Sudeten Mountains run along most of the southern edge of the region, though at its south-eastern extreme it reaches the Silesian Beskids and Moravian-Silesian Beskids, which belong to the Carpathian Mountains range.

Historically, Silesia was bounded to the west by the Kwisa and Bóbr Rivers, while the territory west of the Kwisa was in Upper Lusatia (earlier Milsko). However, because part of Upper Lusatia was included in the Province of Silesia in 1815, in Germany Görlitz, Niederschlesischer Oberlausitzkreis and neighbouring areas are considered parts of historical Silesia. Those districts, along with Poland's Lower Silesian Voivodeship and parts of Lubusz Voivodeship, make up the geographic region of Lower Silesia.

Silesia has undergone a similar notional extension at its eastern extreme. Historically, it extended only as far as the Brynica River, which separates it from Zagłębie Dąbrowskie in the Lesser Poland region. However, to many Poles today, Silesia (Śląsk) is understood to cover all of the area around Katowice, including Zagłębie. This interpretation is given official sanction in the use of the name Silesian Voivodeship (województwo śląskie) for the province covering this area. In fact, the word Śląsk in Polish (when used without qualification) now commonly refers exclusively to this area (also called Górny Śląsk or Upper Silesia).

As well as the Katowice area, historical Upper Silesia also includes the Opole region (Poland's Opole Voivodeship) and Czech Silesia. Czech Silesia consists of a part of the Moravian-Silesian Region and the Jeseník District in the Olomouc Region.

Natural resources[edit]

Silesia is a resource-rich and populous region.

Since the middle of the 18th century, coal has been mined. The industry grew during German rule and peaked in the 1970s under the People's Republic of Poland. During this period, Silesia became one of the world's largest producers of coal, with a record tonnage in 1979.[12] Coal mining declined during the next two decades, but has increased again following the end of Communist rule.

Coal Mine Bolesław Śmiały, Łaziska Górne

The 41 coal mines in Silesia mostly form part of the Gornoslaskie Zaglebie Weglowe coalfield which lies in the Silesian Upland. The field has an area of about 4,500 km2.[12] Deposits in Lower Silesia have proven to be difficult to exploit and the area's unprofitable mines were closed in 2000.[12] In 2008, an estimated 35 billion tonnes of lignite reserves were found near Legnica, making them some of the largest in the world.[13]

From the fourth century BC, iron ore has been mined in the upland areas of Silesia.[12] The same period had lead, copper, silver, and gold mining. Zinc, cadmium, arsenic,[14] and uranium[15] have also been mined in the region. Lower Silesia features large copper mining and processing between the cities of Legnica, Głogów, Lubin, and Polkowice.

The region is known for stone quarrying [12] to produce limestone, marl, marble, and basalt.

Annual production of minerals in Silesia
Mineral Name Production (tonnes) Reference
Bituminous coal 95,000,000
Copper 571,000 [16]
Zinc 160,000 [17]
Silver 1,200 [18]
Cadmium 500 [19]
Lead 70,000 [20]

The region also has a thriving agricultural sector, which produces cereals (wheat, rye, barley, oats, corn), potatoes, rapeseed, sugar beets and others. Milk production is well developed. The Opole Silesia has for decades occupied the top spot in Poland for their indices of effectiveness of agricultural land use.[21]

Mountainous parts of southern Silesia feature many significant and attractive tourism destinations (e.g., Karpacz, Szczyrk, Wisła). Silesia is generally well forested. This is because greenness is generally highly desirable by the local population, particularly in the highly industrialized parts of Silesia.

Demographics[edit]

Silesia has been historically diverse in every aspect. Nowadays, the largest part of Silesia is located in homogeneous Poland; it is often cited as one of the most diverse regions in that country.

Polish names of Silesian cities, from a 1750 Prussian official document published in Berlin during the Silesian Wars.[22]

Ethnicity[edit]

Modern Silesia is inhabited by Poles, Silesians, Germans, and Czechs. The last Polish census of 2002 showed that the Silesians are the largest national minority in Poland, Germans being the second; both groups are located mostly in Upper Silesia. The Czech part of Silesia is inhabited by Czechs, Moravians, Silesians, and Poles.

Before the Second World War, Silesia was inhabited mostly by Germans and Poles, with a Czech and Jewish minority. In 1905, a census showed that 75% of the population were Germans and 25% were Poles.[citation needed] The German population tended to be based in the urban centres and in the rural areas to the north and west, whilst the Polish population was generally rural and could be found in the east.[23]

Religion[edit]

Historically, Silesia was pretty much equally split between Protestants (overwhelmingly Lutherans) and Roman Catholics. In a 1890 census taken in the German part, Roman Catholics made up a slight majority of 53%, while the remaining 47% were almost entirely Lutheran.[24] Geographically speaking, Lower Silesia was mostly Lutheran except for the Glatzer Land (now Kłodzko County). Upper Silesia was mostly Roman Catholic except for some of its northwestern parts, which were predominantly Lutheran. Generally speaking, the population tended to be mostly Protestant the further west one went, as it tended to be more Roman Catholic the further east one went. In Upper Silesia, Protestants were concentrated in larger cities and often identified as German. After World War II, the religious demographics changed drastically as Germans, who constituted the bulk of the Protestant population, fled or were forcibly expelled. Poles, who were mostly Roman Catholic, were resettled in their place. Today, Silesia remains predominantly Roman Catholic.

Existing since the 12th century,[25] Silesia's Jewish community was concentrated around Wrocław and Upper Silesia, and numbered 48,003 (1.1% of the population) in 1890, decreasing to 44,985 persons (0.9%) by 1910.[26] In Polish East Upper Silesia, the number of Jews was around 90,000-100,000.[27] Historically the community had suffered a number of localised expulsions such as their 1453 expulsion from Wrocław.[28]

Consequences of World War II[edit]

After the German invasion of Poland in 1939, following Nazi racial policy, the Jewish population of Silesia was subjected to Nazi genocide with executions performed by Einsatzgruppe z. B.V led by Udo von Woyrsch and Einsatzgruppe I led by Bruno Streckenbach,[29][30] imprisonment in ghettos and ethnic cleansing to the General Government. In their efforts to exterminate Poles and Jews through murder and ethnic cleansing Nazi established in Silesia province the Auschwitz and Gross-Rosen camps. Expulsions were carried out openly and reported in the local press.[31] Those sent to ghettos would from 1942 be expelled to concentration and work camps.[32] Between 5 May and 17 June, 20,000 Silesian Jews were sent to Birkenau to gas chambers[33] and during August 1942, 10,000 to 13,000 Silesian Jews were murdered by gassing at Auschwitz.[34] Most Jews in Silesia were exterminated by the Nazis. After the war Silesia became a major centre for repatriation of Jewish population in Poland which survived Nazi German extermination[35] and in autumn 1945, 15,000 Jews were in Lower Silesia, mostly Polish Jews returned from territories now belonging to Soviet Union,[36] rising in 1946 to seventy thousand[37] as Jewish survivors from other regions in Poland were relocated.[38]

The majority of Germans fled or were expelled from the present-day Polish and Czech parts of Silesia during and after World War II. From June 1945 to January 1947, 1.77 million Germans were expelled from Lower Silesia, and 310,000 from Upper Silesia.[39] Today, most German Silesians and their descendants live in the territory of the Federal Republic of Germany, many of them in the Ruhr area working as miners, like their ancestors in Silesia. To smooth their integration into West German society after 1945, they were placed into officially recognized organizations, like the Landsmannschaft Schlesien, with financing from the federal West German budget.[citation needed] One of its most notable but controversial spokesmen was the Christian Democratic Union politician Herbert Hupka.

The expulsion of Germans led to widespread underpopulation. The population of the town of Glogau fell from 33,500 to 5,000, and from 1939 to 1966 the population of Wrocław fell by 25%.[40] Attempts to repopulate Silesia proved unsuccessful in the 1940s and 1950s,[41] and Silesia's population did not reach pre-war levels until the late 1970s.

Cities[edit]

The following table lists the cities in Silesia with a population greater than 30,000 (2015).

Wroclaw 1.jpg
Wrocław
Katowice.jpg
Katowice
Ostrava, pohled z Nové radnice 2.jpg
Ostrava
6588vik Gliwice. Foto Barbara Maliszewska.jpg
Gliwice
Zabrze - Poczta Główna 01.jpg
Zabrze
PL Bielsko Biala Ratusz.JPG
Bielsko-Biała
Bytom - Rynek 01.jpg
Bytom
Ruda Śląska Kaufhaus 04.15 024.JPG
Ruda Śląska
Rynek w Rybniku 1.JPG
Rybnik
Tychy Stare. Rynek1.JPG
Tychy
PL Opole NCentrum.jpg
Opole
Zgora11.jpg
Zielona Góra
Castle Fürstenstein.JPG
Wałbrzych
Chorzów - Teatr Rozrywki 01.JPG
Chorzów
Legnica - Rynek - Dawny Ratusz 01.jpg
Legnica
Jastrzębie Zdrój, Borynia, park3.JPG
Jastrzębie-Zdrój
Name Population Area Country Administrative Historic subregion
1
Herb wroclaw.svg
 Wrocław 632,067 293 km2 (113 sq mi) Poland POL województwo dolnośląskie flag.svg Lower Silesian Voivodeship Lower Silesia
2
Katowice Herb.svg
 Katowice 304,362 165 km2 (64 sq mi) Poland POL województwo śląskie flag.svg Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia
3
Ostrava CoA CZ.svg
 Ostrava* 302,968 214 km2 (83 sq mi) Czech Republic Flag of Moravian-Silesian Region.svg Moravian-Silesian Region Czech Silesia/Moravia
4
Gliwice herb.svg
 Gliwice 185,450 134 km2 (52 sq mi) Poland POL województwo śląskie flag.svg Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia
5
POL Zabrze COA.svg
 Zabrze 178,357 80 km2 (31 sq mi) Poland POL województwo śląskie flag.svg Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia
6
POL Bielsko-Biała COA.svg
 Bielsko-Biała* 173,699 125 km2 (48 sq mi) Poland POL województwo śląskie flag.svg Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia/Lesser Poland
7
Bytom herb.svg
 Bytom 173,439 69 km2 (27 sq mi) Poland POL województwo śląskie flag.svg Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia
8
POL Ruda Śląska COA.svg
 Ruda Śląska 141,521 78 km2 (30 sq mi) Poland POL województwo śląskie flag.svg Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia
9
POL Rybnik COA.svg
 Rybnik 140,173 148 km2 (57 sq mi) Poland POL województwo śląskie flag.svg Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia
10
POL Tychy COA.svg
 Tychy 128,799 82 km2 (32 sq mi) Poland POL województwo śląskie flag.svg Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia
11
POL Opole COA.svg
 Opole 120,146 97 km2 (37 sq mi) Poland POL województwo opolskie flag.svg Opole Voivodeship Upper Silesia
12
POL Zielona Góra COA.svg
 Zielona Góra 118,405 58 km2 (22 sq mi) Poland POL województwo lubuskie flag.svg Lubusz Voivodeship Lower Silesia
13
POL Wałbrzych COA.svg
 Wałbrzych 117,926 85 km2 (33 sq mi) Poland POL województwo dolnośląskie flag.svg Lower Silesian Voivodeship Lower Silesia
14
Chorzów herb.svg
 Chorzów 110,761 33 km2 (13 sq mi) Poland POL województwo śląskie flag.svg Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia
15
Legnica herb.svg
 Legnica 101,992 56 km2 (22 sq mi) Poland POL województwo dolnośląskie flag.svg Lower Silesian Voivodeship Lower Silesia
16
POL Jastrzębie-Zdrój COA.svg
 Jastrzębie-Zdrój 91,235 85 km2 (33 sq mi) Poland POL województwo śląskie flag.svg Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia
17
POL Jelenia Góra COA 1.svg
 Jelenia Góra 81,985 109 km2 (42 sq mi) Poland POL województwo dolnośląskie flag.svg Lower Silesian Voivodeship Lower Silesia
18
Havirov CoA.png
 Havířov 76,381 32 km2 (12 sq mi) Czech Republic Flag of Moravian-Silesian Region.svg Moravian-Silesian Region Czech Silesia
19
POL Mysłowice COA.svg
 Mysłowice 75,129 66 km2 (25 sq mi) Poland POL województwo śląskie flag.svg Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia
20
POL Lubin COA.svg
 Lubin 74,053 41 km2 (16 sq mi) Poland POL województwo dolnośląskie flag.svg Lower Silesian Voivodeship Lower Silesia
21
POL Głogów COA.svg
 Głogów 68,997 35 km2 (14 sq mi) Poland POL województwo dolnośląskie flag.svg Lower Silesian Voivodeship Lower Silesia
22
POL Siemianowice COA.svg
 Siemianowice Śląskie 68,844 25 km2 (10 sq mi) Poland POL województwo śląskie flag.svg Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia
23
POL Kędzierzyn-Koźle COA.svg
 Kędzierzyn-Koźle 63,194 124 km2 (48 sq mi) Poland POL województwo opolskie flag.svg Opole Voivodeship Upper Silesia
24
POL Żory COA.svg
 Żory 62,038 65 km2 (25 sq mi) Poland POL województwo śląskie flag.svg Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia
25
Herb TarnowskieGory.svg
 Tarnowskie Góry 60,957 84 km2 (32 sq mi) Poland POL województwo śląskie flag.svg Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia
26
POL Świdnica COA.svg
 Świdnica 59,182 22 km2 (8 sq mi) Poland POL województwo dolnośląskie flag.svg Lower Silesian Voivodeship Lower Silesia
27
Opava CoA.svg
 Opava 57,676 91 km2 (35 sq mi) Czech Republic Flag of Moravian-Silesian Region.svg Moravian-Silesian Region Czech Silesia
28
POL Piekary Śląskie COA.svg
 Piekary Śląskie 57,148 40 km2 (15 sq mi) Poland POL województwo śląskie flag.svg Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia
29
Frýdek Místek CoA CZ.svg
 Frýdek-Místek* 56,945 52 km2 (20 sq mi) Czech Republic Flag of Moravian-Silesian Region.svg Moravian-Silesian Region Czech Silesia/Moravia
30
Karwina herb.svg
 Karviná 55,985 57 km2 (22 sq mi) Czech Republic Flag of Moravian-Silesian Region.svg Moravian-Silesian Region Czech Silesia
31
POL Racibórz COA.svg
 Racibórz 55,930 75 km2 (29 sq mi) Poland POL województwo śląskie flag.svg Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia
32
Wappen Goerlitz vector.svg
 Görlitz** 55,255 68 km2 (26 sq mi) Germany Saxony Free State of Saxony Historically part of Lusatia, Görlitz was considered part of Lower Silesia in years 1319–1329 and 1815–1945
33
POL Świętochłowice COA.svg
 Świętochłowice 51,824 13 km2 (5 sq mi) Poland POL województwo śląskie flag.svg Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia
34
POL Wodzisław Śląski COA.svg
 Wodzisław Śląski 48,731 50 km2 (19 sq mi) Poland POL województwo śląskie flag.svg Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia
35
POL Nysa COA.svg
 Nysa 44,899 27 km2 (10 sq mi) Poland POL województwo opolskie flag.svg Opole Voivodeship Lower Silesia
36
POL Mikołów COA.svg
 Mikołów 39,776 79 km2 (31 sq mi) Poland POL województwo śląskie flag.svg Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia
37
POL Nowa Sól COA.svg
 Nowa Sól 39,721 22 km2 (8 sq mi) Poland POL województwo lubuskie flag.svg Lubusz Voivodeship Lower Silesia
38
POL Bolesławiec COA 1.svg
 Bolesławiec 39,603 24 km2 (9 sq mi) Poland POL województwo dolnośląskie flag.svg Lower Silesian Voivodeship Lower Silesia
39
POL Knurów COA.svg
 Knurów 39,090 34 km2 (13 sq mi) Poland POL województwo śląskie flag.svg Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia
40
POL Oleśnica COA.svg
 Oleśnica 37,303 21 km2 (8 sq mi) Poland POL województwo dolnośląskie flag.svg Lower Silesian Voivodeship Lower Silesia
41
POL Brzeg COA.svg
 Brzeg 36,980 15 km2 (6 sq mi) Poland POL województwo opolskie flag.svg Opole Voivodeship Lower Silesia
42
POL Cieszyn COA.svg
 Cieszyn 35,918 29 km2 (11 sq mi) Poland POL województwo śląskie flag.svg Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia
43
Trinec Orlice.svg
 Třinec 35,884 85 km2 (33 sq mi) Czech Republic Flag of Moravian-Silesian Region.svg Moravian-Silesian Region Czech Silesia
44
POL Czechowice-Dziedzice COA.svg
 Czechowice-Dziedzice 35,684 33 km2 (13 sq mi) Poland POL województwo śląskie flag.svg Silesian Voivodeship Upper Silesia
45
POL Dzierżoniów COA.svg
 Dzierżoniów 34,428 20 km2 (8 sq mi) Poland POL województwo dolnośląskie flag.svg Lower Silesian Voivodeship Lower Silesia
46
Wappen Hoyerswerda.PNG
 Hoyerswerda** 33,843 96 km2 (37 sq mi) Germany Saxony Free State of Saxony Historically part of Lusatia, Hoyerswerda was considered part of Lower Silesia in years 1825–1945
47
POL Oława COA.svg
 Oława 32,240 27 km2 (10 sq mi) Poland POL województwo dolnośląskie flag.svg Lower Silesian Voivodeship Lower Silesia
48
POL Zgorzelec COA.svg
 Zgorzelec** 31,890 16 km2 (6 sq mi) Poland POL województwo dolnośląskie flag.svg Lower Silesian Voivodeship Historically part of Lusatia, Zgorzelec was considered part of Lower Silesia in years 1319–1329 and 1815–1945
49
POL Bielawa COA.svg
 Bielawa 31,186 36 km2 (14 sq mi) Poland POL województwo dolnośląskie flag.svg Lower Silesian Voivodeship Lower Silesia

* Only part in Silesia

See also[edit]

Footnotes[edit]

  1. ^ Zbigniew Babik, "Najstarsza warstwa nazewnicza na ziemiach polskich w granicach średniowiecznej Słowiańszczyzny", Uniwersitas, Kraków, 2001.
  2. ^ Rudolf Fischer. Onomastica slavogermanica. Uniwersytet Wrocławski. 2007. t. XXVI. 2007. str. 83
  3. ^ Jankuhn, Herbert; Beck, Heinrich; et al., eds. (2006). "Wandalen". Reallexikon der Germanischen Altertumskunde (in German). 33 (2nd ed.). Berlin, Germany; New York, New York: de Gruyter. Da die Silingen offensichtlich ihren Namen im mittelalterlichen pagus silensis und dem mons slenz - möglicherweise mit dem Zobten gleichzusetzen [...] - hinterließen und damit einer ganzen Landschaft – Schlesien – den Namen gaben [...] 
  4. ^ R. Żerelik(in:) M. Czpliński (red.) Historia Śląska, Wrocław 2007, s. 34-35
  5. ^ R. Żerelik(in:) M. Czpliński (red.) Historia Śląska, Wrocław 2007, s. 37-38
  6. ^ a b c R. Żerelik(in:) M. Czpliński (red.) Historia Śląska, Wrocław 2007, s. 21-22
  7. ^ R. Żerelik(in:) M. Czpliński (red.) Historia Śląska, Wrocław 2007, s. 81
  8. ^ Piotr Eberhardt, Political Migrations in Poland, 1939–1948, Warsaw 2006, p.25
  9. ^ Maria Wardzyńska "Był rok 1939 Operacja niemieckiej policji bezpieczeństwa w Polsce. Intelligenzaktion" IPN Instytut Pamięci Narodowej, 2009
  10. ^ Kamila Uzarczyk: Podstawy ideologiczne higieny ras. Toruń: Wydawnictwo Adam Marszałek, 2002, s. 285, 286, 289. ISBN 83-7322-287-1.
  11. ^ Lukowski, Zawadski, Jerzy, Hubert (2006). A Concise History of Poland. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press. pp. 278–280. ISBN 978-0-521-61857-1. 
  12. ^ a b c d e "Natural Resources | poland.gov.pl". En.poland.gov.pl. Retrieved 2013-11-19. 
  13. ^ "Mamy największe złoża węgla brunatnego na świecie" (in Polish). Gazetawyborcza.pl. Retrieved 2013-11-20. 
  14. ^ S.Z. Mikulski, "Late-Hercynian gold-bearing arsenic-polymetallic mineralization within Saxothuringian zone in the Polish Sudetes, Northeast Bohemian Massif". In: "Mineral Deposit at the Beginning of the 21st Century", A. Piestrzyński et al. (eds). Swets & Zeitinger Publishers (Google books)
  15. ^ "Wise International | World Information Service on Energy". 0.antenna.nl. Retrieved 2013-11-20. 
  16. ^ "Copper: World Smelter Production, By Country". Indexmundi.com. 2011-07-28. Retrieved 2013-11-20. 
  17. ^ "Zinc: World Smelter Production, By Country". Indexmundi.com. 2004-07-01. Retrieved 2013-11-20. 
  18. ^ "Silver: World Mine Production, By Country". Indexmundi.com. 2004-08-13. Retrieved 2013-11-20. 
  19. ^ "Cadmium: World Refinery Production, By Country". Indexmundi.com. 2012-05-18. Retrieved 2013-11-20. 
  20. ^ "Lead: World Refinery Production, By Country". Indexmundi.com. 2005-06-24. Retrieved 2013-11-20. 
  21. ^ "Samorząd Województwa Opolskiego". Umwo.opole.pl. Retrieved 2013-11-20. 
  22. ^ "Śląska Biblioteka Cyfrowa - biblioteka cyfrowa regionu śląskiego - Wznowione powszechne taxae-stolae sporządzenie, Dla samowładnego Xięstwa Sląska, Podług ktorego tak Auszpurskiey Konfessyi iak Katoliccy Fararze, Kaznodzieie i Kuratusowie Zachowywać się powinni. Sub Dato z Berlina, d. 8. Augusti 1750". Sbc.org.pl. Retrieved 2013-11-20. 
  23. ^ Hunt Tooley, T (1997). National Identity and Weimar Germany: Upper Silesia and the Eastern Border, 1918-1922, University of Nebraska Press, p.17.
  24. ^ Meyers Konversationslexikon 5. Auflage
  25. ^ Demshuk, A (2012) The Lost German East: Forced Migration and the Politics of Memory, 1945-1970, Cambridge University Press P40
  26. ^ Kamusella, T (2007). Silesia and Central European nationalisms: the emergence of national and ethnic groups in Prussian Silesia and Austrian Silesia, 1848-1918, Purdue University Press, p.173.
  27. ^ Christopher R. Browning (2000). Nazi Policy, Jewish Workers, German Killers, Cambridge University Press, 2000, p.147.
  28. ^ van Straten, J (2011) The Origin of Ashkenazi Jewry: The Controversy Unravelled, Walter de Gruyter P58
  29. ^ Popularna encyklopedia powszechna - Volume 10 - Page 660 Magdalena Olkuśnik, Elżbieta Wójcik - 2001 Streckenbach Bruno (1902-1977), funkcjonariusz niem. państwa nazistowskiego, Gruppenfuhrer SS. Od 1933 szef policji po- lit w Hamburgu. 1939 dow. Einsatzgruppe I (odpowiedzialny za eksterminacje ludności pol. i żydowskiej na Śląsku).
  30. ^ Zagłada Żydów na polskich terenach wcielonych do Rzeszy Page 53 Aleksandra Namysło, Instytut Pamięci Narodowej--Komisja Ścigania Zbrodni przeciwko Narodowi Polskiemu - 2008 W rzeczywistości ludzie Udona von Woyr- scha podczas marszu przez województwo śląskie na wschód dopuszczali się prawdziwych masakr ludności żydowskiej.
  31. ^ Steinbacher, S. "In the Shadow of Auschwitz, The murder of the Jews of East Upper Silesia", in Cesarani, D. (2004) Holocaust: From the persecution of the Jews to mass murder, Routledge, P126
  32. ^ Steinbacher, S. "In the Shadow of Auschwitz, The murder of the Jews of East Upper Silesia", in Cesarani, D. (2004) Holocaust: From the persecution of the Jews to mass murder, Routledge, pp.110-138.
  33. ^ The Origins of the Final Solution: The Evolution of Nazi Jewish Jewish Policy, September 1939-March 1942 - Page 544 Christopher R. Browning - 2007 Between May 5 and June 17, 20,000 Silesian Jews were deported to Birkenau to be gassed.
  34. ^ Christopher R. Browning (2007). The Origins of the Final Solution: The Evolution of Nazi Jewish Policy, September 1939-March 1942, University of Nebraska Press, p.544.
  35. ^ The International Jewish Labor Bund After 1945: Toward a Global History David Slucki, page 63
  36. ^ A narrow bridge to life: Jewish forced labor and survival in the Gross-Rosen camp system, 1940-1945, page 229 Belah Guṭerman
  37. ^ Kochavi, AJ (2001)Post-Holocaust politics: Britain, the United States & Jewish refugees, 1945-1948, University of North Carolina Press P 176
  38. ^ Kochavi, AJ (2001). Post-Holocaust politics: Britain, the United States & Jewish refugees, 1945-1948, University of North Carolina Press, p.176.
  39. ^ DB Klusmeyer & DG Papademetriou (2009). Immigration policy in the Federal Republic of Germany: negotiating membership and remaking the nation, Berghahn, p.70.
  40. ^ Scholz, A (1964). Silesia: yesterday and today, Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague, p.69.
  41. ^ Mazower, M (1999). Dark Continent: Europe's 20th Century, Penguin, p.223.

References[edit]

External links[edit]

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